Michael Bellmore, New Haven Register reporter, gets instruction from certified NRA Instructor Michael Pear of Meriden
Posted on 02/18/2013 8:22:34 AM PST by billorites
MERIDEN — When I pulled into the parking lot of 35 Pleasant Street, it looked like any other suburban office building — the kind of place where podiatrists look at feet and optometrists look at eyes. What removed it from the ordinary was a laminated sign in the lobby directing me to my destination. It depicted the white silhouette of handgun on a red background. Underneath was written “ctpistolclass.com,” with an arrow pointed to the elevator.
On the third floor, Michael Pear, an NRA certified pistol, rifle and shotgun instructor, was preparing to teach the NRA basic pistol safety course in which I had enrolled, the first step toward acquiring a state pistol permit.
“The goal of the class, the stated course goal, is to teach the basic knowledge, skills and attitude necessary for owning and using a pistol safely,” Pear said, “That pretty much says it all, and I believe in that.”
Inside the classroom, diagrams of firearms and cross sections of cartridges lined the walls of the otherwise stark room. A long, white table sat 17 people, including myself.
I don’t know quite who I expected to see sitting at that table, but it most certainly was not the stereotypical bunch of yahoos that the unfairly presumptuous might imagine. Half of the class were men, half were women, some of whom had never fired a gun before. Young adults sat next to senior citizens. Couples had brought their aged relatives.
“I’ve had people as old as their early 80s take the class. So it pretty much runs the gamut. The ethnic diversity is right there with the population. We have the business owner, the dock worker, the factory worker who loads trucks all day for a living, the waitress at the diner,”
(Excerpt) Read more at nhregister.com ...
Michael Bellmore, New Haven Register reporter, gets instruction from certified NRA Instructor Michael Pear of Meriden
Can’t judge a book by its cover, but I’ll guess that the metrosexual on the right is the reporter.
Typical lib. Brings his own prejudices, writes a “I, I, I” story. Reveals his ignorance about stuff we’ve all known for years.
Sorry, Mikey. You’re a day late & a dollar short. Emily Miller wrote a wonderful series on obtaining a CCW in DC for the Washington Times.
Took my CCW class this weekend. To my surprise 70% were women. The best shooter in the bunch was a women, mid 40’s couple of kids. Moral of the story, be careful who you mess with out there.
Talk about a pencil necked geek! That boy has never made a fist. I am sure he went right home to his mommy and told her all about his combat exploits.
That’s because his unionized teacher Mom divorced her hubby when Metroboy was 7 and he grew up with man haters and Lib drivel his whole life. Substituting video games for hunting, fishing and camping, he played tuba and went to a Liberal college.
The divorce - Libtard connection.
The above is speculation, but there are thousands of the male vagina types all across colleges everywhere.
mark for location
Of all the people I have provided instruction for, almost always it's the females who shoot the best outta the gate.
I think it's because there's no bravado there, they listen more. No macho-ism.
Give the kid some credit. He went into this thing biased as hell, but in the end he learned a great deal. This is how we win this fight. We have to educate people. We will never be able to bring them all to our side, but we can pick enough of them off. This reporter is a prime example of this strategy. Firearms are no longer a big bad mystery to him. He now understands that my Ruger P-94 isn’t going to jump out of the closet and go on a killing spree.
Not a bad article. The reporter managed to maintain a pretty unbiased position throughout.
When first seeing that picture, before scrolling down to read your post, I had already identified “reporter” and “gun guy.”
I think you are on to part of why women often become better shooters on the first trip to the range. I think the rest is the lack of preconceived notions. They go in accepting that they don’t know how to shoot and hence listen to everything you tell them. Men often believe they already know the business, especially if they don’t.
I’ve taught a lot of people how to shoot and the women often and up surprisingly good by the end of their first trip to the range.
I've long suspected that the Greek myths of Artemis/Diana/Amazons were based on actual observations of women's prowess handling bows - albiet perhaps not the mighty hero bows with the 100 lb draw.
You’re too hard on the guy. He kept an open mind, and is even buying himself a rifle. As for telling his Mom, didn’t you tell someone about your new found enjoyment when you started your new gun hobby?
Yup. Has ‘metro’ written all over him.
Bump!
Excellent comment.
You should both read the entire article. This is a liberal writing for a liberal rag to a liberal audience. You must give credit to where credit is due.
I believe he did a pretty objective peice and “understands” the thrill of owning and shooting firearms now that he’s experienced it.
He supports our conservative position and is against 2A legislation. He is the kind of liberal that other liberals might listen to. A pat on the back is in order, not vilification for association.
Good article. People complaining about it didn’t read it. Surprising coming from the NH Register.
I couldn't agree more.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.